It is conventional for a fuel tank and the filler pipe through which the tank will be filled to be manufactured separately and to be connected to one another during assembly of the motor vehicle. The connection of the pipe to the tank should therefore be easy to make, yet should satisfactorily seal and should also be resistant to separation forces.
It is known to provide an annular sealing grommet at the tank inlet opening and to push-fit the end of a round pipe through the grommet to form a seal. It is conventional to machine the end of the filler pipe to produce a true cylindrical wall which will seal with the grommet. However such an assembly has very little resistance to separation loads, although it is intended that some sliding movement between the filler pipe and the grommet should be allowed without adversely affecting the performance of the seal.